Bill Nye

Bill Nye's interview with WKU Public Radio ahead of his visit on Oct. 15.

The man known as “The Science Guy” is coming to WKU Wednesday evening. Scientist, author, and former PBS show host Bill Nye will speak at E.A. Diddle Arena as part of the WKU Cultural Enhancement Series.

Nye is a passionate spokesman for science education in the U.S., and he often warns his audiences that the country faces the threat of losing its reputation as the leading global innovator unless it starts putting greater emphasis on teaching young people science and math.

In February, Nye made headlines when he came to northern Kentucky to debate Ken Ham, the president of the group “Answers in Genesis” that operates the Creation Museum in Petersburg.

Ahead of his appearance in Bowling Green, Nye spoke to WKU Public Radio about science and religion, and what he thinks is the biggest long-term impact of the U.S. underperforming in science and math education.

WKU Public Radio: What do you think will happen to the U.S. if we don’t put greater emphasis on science education?

Nye: The U.S. economy will flag. It will fail. What keeps the United States in the game economically is not our manufacturing, as such—it’s our innovation. It’s our new ideas. This is the reason the U.S. is still doing very well economically around the world, even though all the stuff we wear is made somewhere else, and the cars we drive are largely made elsewhere.

An upcoming presentation at WKU by a popular former PBS host known as “The Science Guy” is proving such a hot ticket that the event is being moved.

Bill Nye is speaking October 15 as part of the WKU Cultural Enhancement Series. He was originally slated to talk at Van Meter Hall, but to accommodate the high demand for tickets, the school is moving the event to Diddle Arena.

Nye is a scientist, author, and advocate who travels the country to talk about the importance of science education. He recently debated the issue of evolution versus creationism at the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky.

All tickets given out for Nye’s talk at Van Meter will be honored at Diddle Arena. Updated information about tickets and parking for Nye's event at WKU is available here.

Oct. 15: Bill Nye, 7:30 p.m. at E.A Diddle Arena. The scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. (Note:CES Premier Event; tickets available Sept. 15. Co-sponsored by the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky.)

Bill Nye first learned to talk to audiences through his ’90s TV show “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” where he made science topics fun and accessible to kids. But now, as CEO of The Planetary Society, he speaks to a different audience.

Nye has appeared on numerous news programs to talk about climate change. He’s a proponent of immediate action to reduce the damage that has been done to the atmosphere.

Days after a wide-ranging debate on creationism and evolution between Bill Nye and Ken Ham, the event is driving an online conversation. Themes of belief and literalism, logic and faith — and, for some, relevance — are being aired and disputed. And some wonder what the debate accomplished.

The video of the more than two-hour debate, in which Nye and Ham presented their views on how the Earth and its surroundings were created, has been viewed more than 830,000 times on YouTube. At one point, the live event drew more than 500,000 viewers.

One of TV’s best known science educators, Bill Nye, wrapped up this week’s visit to Kentucky by debating the founder of the Creation Museum Tuesday evening.

Ken Ham, the founder and CEO of the museum in Northern Kentucky, challenged Nye to debate the topic, “Is Creationism a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era.”

Ham believes science can be reconciled with a belief that the world was created in six days and is only six thousand years old, a view that comes from a literal interpretation of the Bible.

“I don’t know of any other religion that has a book that starts off by telling you there’s an infinite God and talks about the origin of the universe and the origin of matter and the origin of light and the origin of darkness and the origin of day and night," Ham said during the debate.

Ham invited Nye to debate following Nye’s 2012 YouTube video in which he stated that teaching divine creation was harmful to children and to American society.

Science guy Bill Nye is set to visit Kentucky next month for a debate on science and creation with Creation Museum founder Ken Ham.

Ham wrote on his Facebook page that the museum will play host to Nye, the former host of a popular youth science show, on Feb. 4.

Nye has been critical of creationists for their opposition to evolution and asserting that the Old Testament is a literal account of the earth’s beginnings. Last year in an online video that drew nearly six million views, Nye said teaching creationism was bad for children.

The video prompted a response video from the Creation Museum and Ham later challenged him to a debate.

The event will be titled “Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?” The museum is planning to charge admission.